What a difference a day makes! This morning I met an old client and his wife at the ramp, looking out at average 3 & 4 foot waves from the SW. Brim and Krysta were given the option to reschedule to another day when I saw the lake, but decided to go out anyway. Although the air temps were in the 70’s the humidity still remained and putting on rain gear for the unexpected was a little warm. If there was any good to this it would have been that we at least had to run somewhat into the wind! I had a three mile ride to make and it was a little bumpy as we got further away from the shore. Some of the rollers were now in the 4 to 5 foot class as we made our way to the first fishing area. I knew that with these winds I would be limited to where I could fish and this was one of the better areas to start. The winds were howling but at least we managed, as the waves were under a foot. For several hours we made our way over a series of rock piles and weed flats catching a bunch of smallies along the way. It was tough trying to fish a weightless senko in the wind and pickups were very difficult to detect. At one point I had both Krysta and Brim throwing a spinnerbait just so they could have some control. One of the areas produced a flurry of active feeding bass and both of them were hooking up for a while. The blades were getting the attention but it was short lived. Once they had stung 10 or 12 smallies, it just came to a stop. They were wise to us now and we had to go back to a more finesse like approach to pick up a few additional bites. Tube jigs were used to entice several more non active ones before we moved on. I knew we couldn’t marry this flat all day long and sometime in the afternoon decided to take the punishment and try another deeper area with drop shot rigs. The winds had diminished slightly and were now blowing at 15 to 25 knots from the SW instead of the earlier gusts upwards of 40 and we only had 2 & 3 footers to contend with. I set them up over a series of deep water bumps and instructed them on how to feel for the bottom as we began. In order to fish this place correctly I was forced to use the kicker and had to almost back troll just to remain vertical. Without splash guards it was impossible to keep the waves from coming over the transom as some huge rollers entered the back of the boat. Brim thought this was amusing from the front deck but Krysta wasn’t too impressed with him as she was in the back. We managed to do this for almost 2 hours and caught several bass along the way. Unfortunately, the larger ones always managed to come unpinned as they took to the air after the hook set. Both Brim & Krysta had their shot at 3 to 4 pound fish but the conditions made it difficult to hold on. Somewhere after 4:00 we decided to head back and called it a day. Despite the cruel punishment Mother Nature had given us, we still managed close to 30 hookups. There’s really no winning with her as she seems to either kill me with flat calm or hurricane like conditions when I’m out. All in all a pretty decent day regardless of what we were dealt!!

This morning I was joined by Leslie, Sam & Elliot on a local lake for smallmouth bass. I had fished with Leslie before but the others were newbie’s and would require a little training. We launched shortly after 8:30 and Leslie wasted no time hooking up in the first area while I was instructing Sam & Elliot on the basics of the equipment. Although it was only around 3 pounds, it was a start and got everybody pumped for more. The conditions were perfect with little to no wind and 75 degrees. Sunshine would be with us throughout, despite the weather forecast of thunder showers later in the day. We must have spent close to 3 hours in the first area catching a bunch of bass before moving a short distance away for even more. Sam & Elliot had finally learned the casting techniques needed to fish & were hooking some of their own on senko’s. Leslie switched back & forth with the spinnerbait & senko as well. He would finally be the one to hook into & land the bass we were searching for. This fish was over 4 pounds and worthy of a pic or two before being released. Several others were also caught in the next hour or so but nothing would come close to the last one. We pulled the plug on this fishing and switched up to trolling for walleye for the last 45 minutes of the trip. They had hoped to be able to take a few home but cut the time needed a little short. We did manage to get a northern and another bass but I never really located the walleye in the little time allotted as we ended the morning trip. I was to meet another party at the dock and we called it quits. They had caught a bunch of decent bass throughout the morning and had a great time while doing so. Paul & his son Sam were my afternoon guests and Sam was looking for a big fish. He hadn’t caught walleye before and I thought I would drop the lines in and see if I could have better luck in another area. It didn’t take long before the first reel screamed and a smallie went to the air. Unfortunately it came unpinned almost immediately and Sam was left holding an empty rod. Back it went and a little later another reel went off and he was officially reeling in his very first walleye. It may have been small but it was the first! We only managed to get one other small walleye before I decided to hit another area for bass, further up the lake. The weather was holding out great despite the predicted day of thunder showers and we were glad. I wasn’t sure if I would have the morning group let alone an afternoon outing based on the earlier weather reports. This next area had been full of bass just the day before and I hoped it was still loaded for Sam & his dad. We all threw senko’s and fished slowly in anticipation and really had to work for a few bites. The bass weren’t too big but the fight was unbelievable as Paul was finding out. Sam had been looking for a big fish and he was about to get his wish as a huge sturgeon was hooked up on a jig. The battle was quite spectacular and several aerials were seen as he muscled this beast closer to the boat. Finally, I was able to glove the tail and bring his trophy aboard! The raw power of these prehistoric creatures had him smiling from ear to ear. Several pics were taken before releasing her back to the lake and Sam’s wish had been granted. He had landed his very first sturgeon and it was a beauty. We went back to fishing the area and managed a few more bites before I headed further up the lake looking for active bass. There were a couple of others caught in this area but the clouds were moving in and skies were darkening, making me a little uneasy. I was blocked by the land and couldn’t really see what was coming and didn’t like it. There were chances of thunder showers and I decided to get closer to the boat ramp just in case. We called it for this area and made our way back to the open water where I could have a better look at what was coming. I was planning on fishing again but once I got a 360 degree look at the sky, I knew we were in trouble. We were surrounded by black skies and I could see lightening in certain areas. This afternoon was over! The boat was on the trailer and we were only in the truck for a couple of minutes when the skies opened up and the winds began. Timing is everything! If we had waited any longer, we would have been in this instead of in the safety of the truck. Although we had cut the afternoon trip short, Sam had managed to obtain two firsts and one of them was a real trophy. I’m sure neither of them will ever forget their time spent in Montreal and the pictures will provide the memories!!

Hassan joined me today and he brought along a couple of guests as well. His father, Ahmad and his father in law, Christopher were about to have a great day on the water catching loads of smallmouth bass. We hooked up shortly after 7:30 on what had the makings of an overcast day. The air temps were in the 70’s with high humidity and I knew we were going to get them! With water temps holding at 75.5 degrees the bass were stable and I went straight to an area that had quality fish. Winds were out of the west but at less than 5 knots, they were almost non existent. Senkos would be the ticket today as the water seemed like someone had shut the current flow off once again. In the first couple of hours everyone caught fish but it wasn’t what I had expected. They were on the smaller side and I wanted bigger! Relocation was in order so I headed further up the lake, in search of bigger fish. Although this stop was only supposed to be a brief one, we managed to stay here for close to two hours. It was loaded and they were eating everything we threw at them! Tubes and senkos were being picked up on almost every cast and bass were consistently coming to the net. I don’t think there was anything really big as most were in the 2 to 3 pound range and it was on fire. We even managed to land another sturgeon on a tube once again and saw several others lurking around as well. When the action slowed we shifted to another area and continued the process once more, catching smallies consistently again. I’m not sure if there was a four pounder taken today but there were plenty of others slightly smaller landed and loads more missed. With the day getting on and Hassan wanting to get some walleye for his guests, I pulled the plug on bass and switched to the troll. As with every day, there’s always an amount of time needed to locate these fish and today was no different. Close to fifteen minutes went by before the first reel went off and it was game on! A 16 inch walleye came to the net and soon after another of the same size also was boated securing my theory of where they were holding. I immediately reset the lines and began covering this area a little more thoroughly as another fish hit the lure again. This time I could tell that it was considerably larger and instructed Christopher to reel in slowly so as not to pull the hooks free. As I slid the net under a 20 inch fish, one of the other reels went off and we had a double. Unfortunately, it was a pike and disappointment was the result! We were getting ready to pull the plug on this day when the final reel went off and once again Christopher landed a 19 inch walleye giving each of them a couple of fish for the table tonight. As I brought in the balance of the lines, I noticed that we had a rider and handed the line off to someone, to reel in the last walleye of the day. Another 16 incher was boated and we were on our way. Although it took me 15 minutes to locate feeding fish it took only 30 to boat 6, with 5 of them being walleye. Not a bad average! The day ended with a bang and everyone was happy with the results. Hassan’s dad and father in law got to see what he had been describing and experience it for themselves today. As an added bonus, they’ll even get to sample some of the finest fresh water fish around. All in all a great day to be on the lake!!

Christiane & I hit the water late today as we were undecided whether or not the weather would be a factor. It was calling for showers and possible storms but the radar looked doable. By 10:30 we were wetting a line and attempting a few walleye of our own for the dinner table! It was really slow fishing for them and we didn’t get a bite in the first hour. I immediately pulled the plug and headed somewhere else and began drop shotting instead. Here we managed to get several good smallmouth up to 4 pounds and one tiny walleye that was returned unharmed. I thought I would give the troll another try and went back to the same area that hadn’t produced a strike earlier. Someone must have turned the light switch on because it took less than 3 minutes for the first reel to fire. Unfortunately, it was a northern, but it was action! Not long after, both reels screamed simultaneously and we were doubled up. Christiane had a decent walleye and I had a big northern that went just under 8 pounds. I reset the lines and almost immediately, another reel fired and a smallmouth went airborne. Then the other reel went off again and a walleye almost made it to the net. It came unpinned before I could get a shot at her and got an early release. As fast as this show started, it stopped. We spent the next 45 minutes without a single strike and I decided to make another move. Besides the fact that the weather was killing us with no wind, sunshine and high humidity, the fish had disappeared! This next move was definitely the right one as a reel went off as soon as the rod went in the water. Christiane was battling something big and it was staying down all the way to the boat. Big walleye I thought and I was right. I slid the net under one over 24 inches, shot a few pics and returned her back to the lake. It was this area that was to give us the best results as reels were firing constantly. A mix of walleye, pike and quality smallmouth bass were coming aboard and we had action. One of the reels went off hard and something heavy was on giving Christiane a hard time. This made me think she had been taken down into the weeds. She applied a little more pressure to try & free it and I thought she was gaining until the line started going out of the reel once again. I immediately brought in the other rod and started backing up to see if I could regain some of the lost line when she finally turned the fish and started gaining. To both our amazement, it hadn’t bogged her down in the weeds at all, it was just big! She had a decent muskie on the other end and real bonus of a fish. Eventually I was able to get the boga on her trophy and brought the muskie into the boat for a few quick pics. We hadn’t hurt the fish at all and although the release was slow, it ended in a face wash! Hateful creature! We fished a little longer after and continued to boat bass & walleye but no more bonuses. By 4:00 we had enough of this heat and just packed it in. It was definitely a good choice today as not only did she have a Grand Slam of a day but she had the bonus fish she was looking for without even trying for it. It’s amazing how much fight these fish put up when being battled on walleye gear! Overall, a great 5 hours or so of fishing on yet another scorcher of a day!!

Neil was with me today and finally taking a day off work for a little relaxation! We hit the water before 8:00 and tried a little trolling as he too wished to take a few walleye home for the table. Plenty of multi species days this summer! We set the lines and began looking for old marble eyes for close to an hour without success. A couple of small ones and a bass or two were all we had to show for our efforts so we pulled the plug. Smallies were the next target and apparently the right decision as they were biting. Neil threw a spinnerbait for a bit searching for the aggressive ones and only managed a few before I switched him up to a jig and down he went. They obviously wanted it slower because he started catching them by crawling the tube through the rocks. In the next area he went back to the spinnerbait and as luck would have it, landed a walleye on his second cast. Now there was one! A couple of smallies later he was once again switching up to another presentation as the aggressive bait bite died. Senkos were thrown and many a hookup was had. Nothing really big but a few in the 3 to 3.5 pound range and real fighters! He even managed to land a small sturgeon on a tube jig as there were a few of them feeding on the same flat. It wasn’t until we moved over to another area that he finally hooked into a bruiser and landed one of photo caliber. This thing jumped several times and put up one hell of a battle before it came close enough to be netted. It was definitely in the upper 4 pound range and after several pics, released to fight another day. Even though it may have been the only fish of that size today, all the others landed fought like champs as well! We fished a few more areas for smallies with both senkos and tubes and caught everywhere we went. I knew Neil wanted to take a few walleye home for his family so I allotted about an hour or so at the end of the day and went back to trolling. It was apparently the right choice as we were hooked up immediately. The last part of the day saw almost 10 Dore landed and he picked a few of them for dinner! By making the right moves today we were able to stay on the fish all the time and kept catching throughout. The weather was beautiful, the fish were biting and all was good! Neil couldn’t have chosen a more perfect day to get away from work and had a great ay of fishing as an added bonus. Back to the dock we went fully satisfied with the outcome of today and the walleye were definitely the icing on the cake for the day. He & his family would be eating well tonight!!